The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-06-04
BRooKLYN's RIc BOSS.
Some Interesting Points About tho
Life OF an American Potentate.
philadelphia Press.l

GhO VI an Afl6ftCdu POtSntdt6s
Philadelphia Press.l
In side street in Brooklyn Is furniture
auction house, just such an one as you seq
scores of there and in this city In appearance.
and yet the more you see and hear of it the
more extraordinary it becomes. II you were
to watch II for day you would marvel at the
size and nature Of the crowd Of callers there.
In the stream Of visitors you would see now
judge, now dozen prosperous, polished,
black mustached politicians and then ia
nous city official. Then more politicians.
singly or in pairs. would come followed by a
Government official, another city officer, a IA
miliar face from the New York Custom
House; perhaps State official or some one
holding place or power In Washington.
The name over the door is ''Kerrigan" 50
that would afford you no light upon the un-
common scene. Go In past the articles of fur
nlture and you would see that every one OF
these callers had come TO see tall, broad
shouldered man who Is seated in q chair and
greeslng them and listening TO them, each In
turn. Is he this Kerrigan? No; nor Is he i'm
the auction business.
He Is an American potentate. He Is that
triumph OF our liberties andlOur freedom. n
political boss. He Is BOSS" Hugh McIaugh-
lin-at present the most powerful one I'M Ria
country, and for twenty years the ruler OF
brooklyn and the country surrounding II.
The conditions he represents are interesting
but he emphasizes that interest. The study
Of lie and work Of boss is curious one,
NIL Inc study OF his Is most peculiar. Boss
= ' s'sa.a was one of breed Of boys with
good mother ana a good sister, the fathsr
nsed h T work w aTon 1dey were young. They
ind to do, and all tossed their earnings I'm
their mothers lap and went TO her for every
v vyss they needed Tor tobacco or recreation.
thresboshiSs { were grown up lads at manhood's
n r,oSusT ,.a they kept this up. Hugh made
naSS y I11sn1 b.nd finally got place In t6s
6 gans There and then his titie 81 q
Now, In this word and this use Of IL hs.
lnscrutable mystery. IL Is the very esssence
OF the thing we Americans are united la
abolish from the earth. Absolutely every ono
calls Boss Mclaughlin Boss" not to his
face, though. That 10 reserved (curiously)
Tor those who know him .best; the highest
and most influential men in politics in his
party In the country and the State. A RS
porter once asked him If he was not the boss.
and he said :"NO one has a right to call mo
So"
The reporter tried again: well. then. Mr..
Mclaughlin
no" said he, 'T'm Mclaughlin"
He carried his men with him In the navy
yard like solid phalanx and became q
power OF politics. That was in the war
period when the trio, Judge Lot, his partner
sSsf SSTe4 ana n RSFt sEc lie attacked q
became the leader. Many men have since
attacked him, Kinsella, Of the Eagle, Gen.
Slocum and William Marshall among others.
but they only interrupted or annoyed | i'm for
a time. Now consider him as he Is. He mada
little money as fish merchant and invested
it shrewdly in real estate, so that he Is COM
fortably but not well off. He held one Office
in his life, that OF Register. Even In this
party organization he Is merely member OF
the Democratic Association Of the First
Ward. he never was accused OF making q
penny out of politics otherwise than by the
fees or salary he drew as Register. No man
does or ever did dare approach him with "a
dishonest proposition. Yet he runs Brook
| lyn politics, or, as he would put it, oversees
| the interest of the people, all day long, six
| days in the week, doing work that Is disa-
| greeable, some that Is painful, an amount
| that is arduous, for which a shrewd business
man would not take $4,000 year and fill
money Hugh Mclaughlin gets the satisfac.
| ton Of the sense Of power, Curious, isn't
| 1t? He has service-roll longer than that OF
| King Of Holland, and he likes to know 1t and
he likes to know it and to feel 1t, and In that
| he gets his pay.
He lives In four-story brown-stone house
| on top of the hill at the foot Of which he was
| born, for he Is an American, He has a wife
| who deyotes herself to charity and makes
| the politicians think more Of good works and
| pay more the doing Of them than many ever
| thought they before they knew her. These
| two have two maiden daughters, is
and 16 and lovely home. The
Boss, after breakfast each day, and after
he has rubbed up his gun or looked over his
fishing tackle; walks over to the auction
| room and sits down by his desk. He has NJ
lease there, or interest in the place, or kin.
ship with the owner; he simply goes there a.
he has for many years, and Will for years be-
cause 1t happens so. lie finds his letters
| and looks them over, and answers one or two
by the time the callers begin to come. After
that you see the King. The eourtlers c0me
the officials come, the favorites come, the
crowds come. There Is business, there IL
planning. There he sits all day and listens
| tall, well built man, erect and firm, with
mild features and an amicable expression,
twinkling blue eyes, an iron-gray mustaehe,
iron gray hair, a little thin on top, and iron
gray tufts OF whiskers at each ear. His
head is well poised, his profile Is strong, He
| tips the beam at 230.
There he sits and listens. speaking to 81
| many in monosyllables that he is called reti-
cent, whereas to his intimates he as free
spoken as girl. He takes now chew OF
| tobacco. now cigar, but all the time be
listens. He is feeling the pulse Of the party
and weighing its boasts and hopes and griefs
and unhappy auguries or present irritants
He has a report from each ward in Brooklyn
every morning, from the ward leader or thu
man nearest the leader, exactly as the Chic
of Police does from every precinct. AnC
mind you, not a thing Is done in public life
in Brooklyn without his approval. His Is a
absolute power as you will find anywhere
in the world; No one daEes So sgaipsSt i hiW 9
| the party organization, the condensed essenc
| of the local Democracy.
| Don't leap to the conclusion that the BOs
gets Tim and bob" and Jack in or on
Of clerkships. No; he got beyond that s
long ago no one knows when it was. No
simply interests HIMSELF in the larger matter
| of political and official routine and pOlicy
He confers with the head of the party an
Government, and, withal, he bears himsel
| so modestly thet they are left to judge wha
he wants He gives no orders. He hold
his lieutenants absolutely responsible Ii
their districts, and failure or disappointment
means decapitation. just so with the of1t
ials. Scandal means retirement. Abilit
demonstrated means advancement. He say
of himself that he is friend TO the part
, first, and that good poll, les is all he strive
, for He reasons by Intuition, like woma
| He reads newspapers very little-in fact
| usually asks to have read 10 MIN whatev'
| interests him. He listens, and to all alo
, from every side, and then after asking I'll
| opinions Of all concerned, dlgests the ma
and announces the ediet. 1t is as II he We
Brooklyn itself, in man-form, hearing al
| knowing and weighing all there Is about h.
, | politics and government.
; He sends for whomsoever he wants, .
.. matter how high the officials may be, and l
= sends by whoever happens in when he wan
, a messenger, exactly as the Sultan might d.
: and all seem glad to run his errands. Whe
: YOU consider that there Is a condition {
. things in which this Is possible, when yt
: think that there is a man actually ruling
! city of 800, 900 inhabitants without appoin
r ment, election or birthright. Il can not he
/ but make YOU pause and reflect. Not In
: newspaper article, though: Its worth boz
n But the Boss influence is very great on
!. side Of Brooklyn. The President greatly a
n mireS him. So does the Governor, and so
. the party leaders. He asks absolutely moi
h ing Of them. He has right TO consider I
President in his debt for 10 Boss McLaus
i lin he owes his nomination In a great me,
!. ure, the vote of the State being determin
2 by this Boss district, !.
A Johnson, whom do you take after in heis